


It's Falling Down (as you walk away)

by LadyOrion



Series: Only You and I [5]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst, Descendants 2, Kinda, M/M, after ben gets kidnapped, past relationship, they're complicated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 23:29:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20379919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyOrion/pseuds/LadyOrion
Summary: “Oh, Jay,” Harry drawled. His exaggerated sad frown shifted to a gleeful grin, malice sparkling in his eyes. He taunted: “Seems like you’ve lost your touch!”Jay jerked forward, ready to grab Harry by his coat and either punch him or kiss him, even Jay wasn’t sure which. Evie grabbed his shoulder, keeping him from doing either. Harry laughed. He was clearly delighted that he’d gotten under Jay’s skin. The smile on the pirate’s face was a mad, twisted reflection of the one Jay had once loved to see.xTitle from "The Mess I Made" by Parachute





	It's Falling Down (as you walk away)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for all your comments and kudos! Enjoy the newest part in the series!

“Mal, it’s Evie,” Evie pleaded into the old speaking tube. “Let me just talk to you for a second. Please, Mal.”

Mal’s sharp ‘go away!’ is clearly audible even from where Jay’s standing. He came up to Evie, putting a hand on her arm. 

“Let’s give her a couple hours to cool off,” Jay advised, knowing full well how stubborn Mal was when she was angry. Evie sighed but nodded, stepping away from the pipe looking dejected. 

“Guys!” Carlos interjected sharply. Both Evie and Jay turned to look at him. “Where’s Ben?”

Jay’s eyes widened. Listen, he had come to value Ben as a good friend, but if he’d wandered off again, Jay would give him a well-deserved knuckle sandwich, king or not. Jay and Evie moved closer to Carlos, staring down the alley where Ben had just been.

“Ben?” Evie hissed; Jay’s alarm reflected on her face. A figure moved up the darkened alley, and Evie sighed with relief. “Ben! Don’t scare us like that!”

“Don’t scare ya?” A voice echoed back. Jay’s heart flipped at the familiar Scottish accent.  _ Not Ben.  _ Harry Hook lifted his head, grinning maniacally. “But that’s my specialty!”

Jay’s world froze when Harry stepped into the light, the brief moment stretching on and on as he was face to face with his…well, his something, for the first time in 6 months. Harry hadn’t changed; he still wore that red coat and carried his silver hook. His pale eyes, the color of sea glass, were still lined heavily with kohl, making them even more intense and luminous in the shadowed alleys of the Isle. He didn’t have his hat, wild hair falling into his face. Jay’s first thought was that he was just as beautiful as Jay remembered.

“Harry,” Evie said with a touch of dread, snapping Jay out of his trance. 

“What did you do with Ben?” Jay snapped, knowing Harry must have something to do with this.

“Oh, eh, we nicked him. Mhm,” Harry said with a cheerful smile, acting innocent as you please. “Yeah, and if ya want to see him again, have Mal come to the chip shop tonight. Alone. Uma wants…a little visit.”

In the stunned silence left by his words, Harry turned his attention to Jay. Something dark and angry flashed in his eyes, before his playful attitude returned. Jay grit his teeth. This was some sort of payback, wasn’t it? Harry was pissed at Jay, and if Jay was honest with himself, he couldn’t really blame him. But Ben had nothing to do with that, Jay seethed. If Harry wants to be angry, fine, but he should leave Jay’s friends out of it!

“Oh, Jay,” Harry drawled. His exaggerated sad frown shifted to a gleeful grin, malice sparkling in his eyes. He taunted: “Seems like you’ve lost your touch!” 

Jay jerked forward, ready to grab Harry by his coat and either punch him or kiss him, even Jay wasn’t sure which. Evie grabbed his shoulder, keeping him from doing either. Harry laughed. He was clearly delighted that he’d gotten under Jay’s skin. The smile on the pirate’s face was a mad, twisted reflection of the one Jay had once loved to see. Something about it unnerved him a bit. Harry turned to Carlos, doing a yappy imitation of a dog’s bark before turning away, sauntering back down the alley while whistling a tune. 

Jay exhaled, exchanging looks with Evie and Carlos. “Go up to Mal. I’ll be right there,” he said, setting off after Harry before they could object. Catching up to the pirate quickly, he grabbed his shoulder and shoved him down a dead-end side street, behind a stack of barrels. 

“What are you playing at, Harry?” Jay demanded in a low voice, shoving Harry up against the wall. “Huh? What gives?”

The dark look flashed in Harry’s eyes again. “Whatever do you mean, dear? It’s nothin’ personal,” he said, but the malicious smile painted on his face said differently. “Just business, ya see. Evil plans, and all that.”

“Bullshit, it’s not personal,” Jay sneered. “You have a problem with me, fine! That’s fair. But leave my friends out of it! They didn’t do anything to you.”

Harry’s smile dropped into a scowl. “Didn’t do anythin’? Oh, no, I think they did.”

“Yeah? What’s that, huh?”

“Brought ya back here,” Harry snarled, shoving Jay off him. “See Jay, I never wanted to see ya again, after what ya did. But, here ya are, in my fuckin’ face, all because Ben decided to go where he didn’t belong.”

Taken aback, Jay’s anger faltered. 

“Look, I understand you’re mad at me—” 

A bark of harsh laughter cut him off. “Mad at ya? I’m not ‘mad’, Jay. I’m fuckin’ furious. Do ya know what it was like, huh? To wake up and hear ya were gone? Ya didn’t tell me, didn’t say anythin’!” Harry paused, glancing away. “Ya didn’t even say goodbye.”

“Harry, I’m—”

“I’m not finished!” Harry snapped. He held up his hook, pointing it threateningly at Jay. “I saw ya, three days before ya left. Did ya know, then, that you were leaving?” When Jay didn’t answer, Harry growled, raising his voice to a shout. “ _ Did you?! _ ”

Jay exhaled. He contemplated lying but knew Harry would be even more murderous if he ever found out the truth. Besides, Jay knew what he’d done was shitty. He had no illusions about that. The least Jay owed Harry was the truth.

“Yeah,” Jay said, trying to keep his voice calm. “I knew.”

Though Harry had asked, and probably suspected the answer, he still seemed shocked by the confirmation. His hook fell from his fingers, clattering to the ground. Harry made no move to pick it up, staring at Jay with wide eyes and a slack jaw. 

Taking advantage of Harry’s silence, Jay continued. “I didn’t know what to say. I thought I’d only be gone a couple weeks, at most. I never thought I’d…I’d have said goodbye, if I knew that I…that I…”

“Was never coming back?” Harry finished, deathly quiet. “Was leaving forever? Was going to start a new, perfect life of luxury and leave me here to rot?”

“That’s…that’s not fair, Harry, you know—” 

“What do I know?” Harry spat. “Here’s what I know: ya left me. I told ya how much I wanted to leave this place, and ya told me it was impossible. I wonder if ya knew then, huh? Back at the beach, when we…I wonder if ya knew.”

“Of course I didn’t!” Jay snapped. How could Harry think that? “I’d never do that to you.”

“But ya did, Jay,” Harry said hollowly, leaning down to pick up his hook. “Ya did, and I hate ya for it.”

_ I hate you for it.  _ Jay felt the words like a punch. Harry turned away, making to leave.

“Harry, wait! Please,” Jay called after him. “Let Ben go. Let him go.”

Harry whirled around, face twisting into anger again. “Ya got no right to make demands of me, Jay! Not anymore. We’re nothin’ to each other, ya hear me?” With that, he turned around and stalked away. “Chip shop, tonight! Anyone shows their face but Mal, I’ll hook ‘em.”

“Harry…” Jay said, desperately. He didn’t even know what he was asking for, at this point. 

“Go back to your perfect world, Jay. Forget ya ever cared about me. If ya ever did.”

Then, Harry was gone. Jay breathed shakily, leaning back against the wall. Harry’s anger was perfectly deserved, he knew it was. But there was nothing Jay could do! It was an impossible dilemma. He loved Harry. But he couldn’t go back to the Isle. He couldn’t go back to his dad, to his cold, uncaring, detached control. He couldn’t go back to being hungry. He couldn’t go back to having to steal for everything, to having to fight to stay alive. He’d had his taste of freedom, his taste of the sun. His taste of team and tourney and the chance to be someone he was truly proud of. There was no going back, not after that. He thinks he just might die first.

Still, the guilt ate at him. It had been eating at him, since he first realized he wanted to stay in Auradon, to choose good. Once he realized that would mean the barrier would never come down, and Harry would remain trapped on the other side…the guilt had almost torn him apart. Eventually, he had told himself to have hope in Ben’s plan, to bring more children over. Maybe Harry could be freed that way, and Jay wouldn’t have to go back to that hellhole. 

It was a selfish comfort, but it was all Jay could do. And if that made him rotten, to the core, then he really didn’t know another way to be.

But now his friends were paying the price.

=====

Mal, Evie, and Carlos were arguing when Jay climbed up into the hideout. He held his breath when he saw everything; it was all just as he remembered it. It brought back a wave of memories that he’d tried to forget while in Auradon, but not all of them were unpleasant. The Isle was a prison, a hellhole, but there had been good moments, every once and awhile. Like the time Evie made them all costumes for a Halloween party at Dr. Facilier’s arcade. Or the first time Mal made an actual joke, rather than just scathing commentary, and Carlos laughed so hard he fell off the back of the couch and got a minor concussion.

And Harry…Sleeping next to Harry in his bed had been the best sleep he’d ever gotten, even though it was just for a few hours. 

Jay shook his head, trying not to think about that now.

“Where were you?” Mal asked tersely, crossing her arms.

“I went after Harry,” Jay said, his voice sounding distant to his own ears. “Tried to reason with him.”

Mal snorted. “Yeah, and how’d that go?”

“Like shit.”

“Sounds right,” Mal muttered, slamming her hand down on the table. “Dammit!”

Jay winced. “I’m sorry, Mal. This is my fault. Harry’s really pissed at me.” Evie, Mal, and Carlos all stared at him, and Jay rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess I should probably tell you that, when we were on the Isle, Harry and I were…not together, not really. But we were something, for a long time. Like, over a year.” 

To Jay’s bewilderment, none of his friends looked shocked.

“Uh, yeah,” Mal said blandly. “I knew.”

“Same.”

“Ditto.”

Jay glanced back and forth between the three of them, confused. “Wait, you knew? How?”

“We saw,” Carlos said, making a face. “Rooftop.”

“Beach.”

“Here.” At Evie’s answer, Mal swung around to face Jay.

“You brought him here?” She demanded, incredulous. 

Jay shrugged sheepishly. “Once, while you were at…Avarice Alley, I think it was.” 

Mal shook her head in disbelief. “Fucking unbelievable.” She sighed. “That aside, this isn’t your fault, Jay. Well, not just yours. You all never should have brought him here. But what’s done is done. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go meet Uma and prevent a war.”

**Author's Note:**

> Next part up on Tuesday!


End file.
